You may brush off a near miss incident at work but that’s the worst way to respond to this type of close call. A near miss event often indicates that there are potential safety hazards in the workplace.
To ensure safety at your company, and avoid OSHA-related penalties, all near misses need to be reported.
What Is a Near Miss Incident?
OSHA defines a near miss as an incident that did not result in property damage or employee injury or sickness. However, the event had the potential to have disastrous consequences. When a near miss occurs, it’s the result of unsafe working conditions or employee actions.
Near Miss Examples
A few examples of a near miss at work can be seen below.
- An employee slips on condensation from an overhead pipe or water from cleaning that isn’t properly mopped up but doesn’t fall or otherwise injure themselves.
- A co-worker trips on material left in the walkway or a dimly lit hallway.
- Two employees are rough-playing and bump into a third, non-involved party.
- A worker’s loose clothing is caught in a machine, but tears before an employee is injured.
Tools and other items are not secured when stored at heights, fall off, and narrowly miss nearby employees.
Near Miss Reporting for OSHA
It’s impossible to prevent all near misses but reporting each one will prevent it from reoccurring. OSHA strongly encourages employees and managers to record every near miss and investigate the incident, regardless of how minor it was.
The workplace health and safety organization also recommends using the term “incident” instead of “accident.” An accident is often viewed as non-preventable, while incidents are events that happen when proper safety protocols aren’t in place.
Is Near Miss Reporting a Legal Requirement?
Companies are not legally required to report near misses to OSHA or another organization. Only events that result in injury, illness, and property damaged are reported. It doesn’t mean that the incident is forgotten. Instead, companies should have a strategy on how the incidents are reported and resolved.
Why Is It Important to Report a Near Miss?
A near miss indicates that there is a hazard or lapse in current safety practices. Ignoring the event, instead of reporting it means that the problem still exists. Unfortunately, it’s only a matter of time before an employee is injured or damaged to equipment occurs.
Near Miss Reporting Benefits
Reporting near misses reduces the chances of the incident happening again. It also ensures that the potential hazard is eliminated once it’s addressed by a corresponding workplace injury prevention program.
Companies also benefit financially from the reports. Medical expenses, workers’ compensation, and the cost associated with an accident all affect a company’s bottom line.
How to Structure Your Near Miss Policy and Procedure
Starting a near miss policy and procedure program requires businesses to follow a few steps. It streamlines the reporting process and ensures all employees understand the safety policy and procedures.
Report the Incident
It doesn’t matter how large or small the incident was, or who it happened to. Employees need to report all near misses.
Secure the Scene of the Incident
It’s important to secure the scene of the incident. You’re looking for clues as to why the event occurred. It also protects other employees from the potential hazard until you can resolve it.
Communicate to Safety Officers
Part of your safety protocols should include managers and/or employees that are responsible for eliminating workplace hazards. Your safety officers should be made aware of any near misses and ready to receive the incident report.
Fill Out the Near Miss Reporting Form
OSHA has a handy template that businesses can use when employees need to fill out a near miss incident report. The form is simple to fill out. All the fields are marked so workers won’t have any problems entering the necessary information.
If you’re unsure of OSHA recordkeeping procedures, experienced safety compliance consultants can help set up a repeatable process at your company.
Identify and Resolve the Cause
Part of securing the incident scene is to identify the hazard. Once you know what caused the near miss, the next step is to eliminate it. Resolving the cause of the event is the best way to improve safety at work.
For professional help at this step, feel free to reach out to an experienced safety and risk management consultant.
How to Get Employees to Report Near Misses
Employees aren’t always eager to report near misses but there are ways companies can encourage them.
- Simplify the reporting procedure so it’s quick and easy to understand.
- Make the reports anonymous so employees don’t have to worry about recriminations from co-workers or management.
- Keep employees involved by encouraging communication between staff and management with bulletin boards, safety programs, and memos.
If none of these steps are helpful, consider implementing a safety incentive program to help motivate employees.
Let Safety By Design Help You Reduce Potential Workplace Hazards
Whether you have questions about your current safety protocols or need assistance reducing potential workplace hazards, the experienced team at Safety By Design is ready to help. We offer OSHA-aligned safety training in Houston and retainer-based safety management services. Even if you’re not based in the Houston area, you can get OSHA training online that can be tailored to your needs!
Contact our experts today and schedule a consultation!
